When will kitchen items return??

[daviator]

I'm starting to feel ripped off.

At the beginning of Covid, Vistana properties removed a number of "high touch" items from rooms, ostensibly a temporary move.

Now it's more than three years later, the pandemic has been declared over (it's not, but officially it is) and I'm annoyed that there are still no cloth napkins, placemats, and maybe other stuff that I'm forgetting which was removed and has never come back.

Part of the reason that I bought originally was that the properties and the way they were equipped felt classy. I don't want to cook a nice meal and then have to serve it directly on the wooden table, with paper towels serving as napkins. It's definitely a first world problem, but my experience is diminished in a way that feels significant to me.

And now you can't even reliably call to get those items, they often can't find any because they haven't bought any in years.

It gets worse: I checked in today at WDW, and my kitchen doesn't have the glass salad bowls they've always had. Is that something they've gotten rid of? The ceramic bowls (cereal/soup?) are super tiny and don't work for salad. This is pissing me off.

I'm annoyed at the need to call and feel like I'm asking a special favor EVERY SINGLE TIME just to get the stuff that's supposed to be provided in every room.

 

[dannybaker]

Wow I totally agree. I’ve come to the point I bring utensils from home.

 

[dioxide45]

I guess I never knew they disappeared as we only traveled a few times to Vistana Villages and Lagunamar prior to the pandemic. As for salad bowls, there should be larger ones in the units as well as smaller ones for cereal or soup. I seem to recall in a 1BR being four smaller and two larger ones. I do find the smaller ones etiquette. Marriott has very tiny small bowls that are pretty useless. I just wish Vistana had better cooking utensils. No real spatula, horrible glass cutting board and cheap pots and pans. The kitchen are greatly lacking when compared to what we find in our Marriott villas.

 

[geist1223]

For drive to locations Patti has two plastic Totes. One mainly carries food items. The 2nd carries kitchen and household items - place Mats, soap dishes, kitchen tools, set of knives, napkins, etc. The kitchen tools all have red handles so they are different from anything in the Unit.

 

[VacationForever]

My number 1 issue with the COVID excuse is the removal of throw pillows on the couches and arm chairs. We have been bringing our pillows from the bedroom to use as back support during the day and then taking them back into the bedroom at night. Not only it is no class, it has an eek factor for us to have to lay our heads on pillows which have been used on the couches as couches are dirty and don't get washed.

 

[sjlola]

My number 1 issue with the COVID excuse is the removal of throw pillows on the couches and arm chairs. We have been bringing our pillows from the bedroom to use as back support during the day and then taking them back into the bedroom at night. Not only it is no class, it has an eek factor for us to have to lay our heads on pillows which have been used on the couches as couches are dirty and don't get washed.

Our WKORV-N stays since the refurbish have all had throw pillows.

 

[dioxide45]

Our WKORV-N stays since the refurbish have all had throw pillows.

We have seen the throw pillows return at most, if not all, the timeshare units we have stayed in recently.

Another thing the Vistana kitchens are missing is a set of tongs.

 

[zentraveler]

Only undoubtedly when enough owners making enough noise. We bring two sets of cloth napkins - one for the unit and one for the tote that comes with us for leftovers because the restaurants may not ever enough to have anything but basic paper napkins.

Thankfully the places we have been mostly have had throw pillows.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I'm starting to feel ripped off.

At the beginning of Covid, Vistana properties removed a number of "high touch" items from rooms, ostensibly a temporary move.

Now it's more than three years later, the pandemic has been declared over (it's not, but officially it is) and I'm annoyed that there are still no cloth napkins, placemats, and maybe other stuff that I'm forgetting which was removed and has never come back.

Part of the reason that I bought originally was that the properties and the way they were equipped felt classy. I don't want to cook a nice meal and then have to serve it directly on the wooden table, with paper towels serving as napkins. It's definitely a first world problem, but my experience is diminished in a way that feels significant to me.

And now you can't even reliably call to get those items, they often can't find any because they haven't bought any in years.

It gets worse: I checked in today at WDW, and my kitchen doesn't have the glass salad bowls they've always had. Is that something they've gotten rid of? The ceramic bowls (cereal/soup?) are super tiny and don't work for salad. This is pissing me off.

I'm annoyed at the need to call and feel like I'm asking a special favor EVERY SINGLE TIME just to get the stuff that's supposed to be provided in every room.

In December we were in WDW and I recall that they HAD the big glass mixing bowl for salads. Maybe someone broke one and it wasn't replaced. If I were you, I'd just call housekeeping or front desk.

 

[VacationForever]

Our WKORV-N stays since the refurbish have all had throw pillows.

That is encouraging! Thanks for the news. When was this?

 

[VacationForever]

We have seen the throw pillows return at most, if not all, the timeshare units we have stayed in recently.

Another thing the Vistana kitchens are missing is a set of tongs.

The throw pillows were still missing in Nov/Dec 2022 at Westin Mission Hills where we stayed for 2 weeks and Jan/February 2023 at Marriott's Desert Springs Villas I where we stayed for 3 weeks.

 

[LMD]

The throw pillows were still missing in Nov/Dec 2022 at Westin Mission Hills where we stayed for 2 weeks and Jan/February 2023 at Marriott's Desert Springs Villas I where we stayed for 3 weeks.

Throw pillows are sort of gross anyway. I usually put pillow cases on them if we want to use them on the sofa….even before COVID.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Has mid-week clean returned to WKORV and WKORVN? We were there in summer 2021 and I thought their Covid excuse for not having it was weak then because we had just finished a week at HGVC and housekeeping had already been resumed.

 

[daviator]

Has mid-week clean returned to WKORV and WKORVN? We were there in summer 2021 and I thought their Covid excuse for not having it was weak then because we had just finished a week at HGVC and housekeeping had already been resumed.

I think it’s back everywhere.